What to Eat for Breakfast When You’re Sick of Oatmeal, Part II* [Crap in a Cup!]
Mug muffins! Like many trends I am way late on this bandwagon but I’m here to tell you that it’s totally worth jumping on because this stuff is awesome. It may look like crap in a cup but this is one breakfast that is as nutritious as it is tasty. (Note: I did not write “as tasty as it is nutritious” because I am known for eating some pretty foul stuff just because I think it’s good for me. This is not one of those things. It’s genuinely delish.) Plus it only takes 2 minutes to make and cook, is infinitely customizable and makes your house smell like you’ve been really cooking and not just doing the adult version of the Easy Bake Oven (which is essentially what this recipe is)!
gratuitous dress shot. Sorry, just happens around here sometimes. And egads, did I just Instagram my breakfast? Have I become THAT girl??
Anyhow, I do know that fit and food bloggers have been writing about these babies as long as Drew Barrymore has been making movies (seriously her IMDB page makes my head spin and I think we’re about the same age) but on the off chance that you too have not tried them yet, now’s your chance! To be perfectly clear: I did not invent this recipe - the one I use I got from Heather Eats Almond Butter – nor did I even “tweak” it to make it my own. (If you know me that is disaster waiting to happen.) With that I present to you the mug muffin recipe that is so totally not my idea: (Go check out Heather, she’s amazing.)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a large mug and microwave for 50 seconds. Pops right out – you don’t even need to grease the mug.
- Put on a pretty dress because everything tastes better in a fun outfit. (Oops, how did that get in there??)
Charlotte’s Notes: This recipe doesn’t taste very sweet which I actually really like but if you prefer your muffins on the sweet side you can always add more sweetener or drizzle syrup over the top or add chocolate chips and whipped cream or whatever. It’s also a wonderfully flexible recipe. I’ve used oat flour and coconut flour instead of the ground flax and while they change the texture a bit they all work fine. You can try omitting the cocoa and adding cinnamon and fruit or even bump up the protein with protein powder.
With 240 calories, 9 grams of fiber, 13 grams of protein and only 3 grams of sugar, it’s a nutrition-packed breakfast. (Or late-night snack, I’m eating one right now.) P.S. I’m only including the nutritional stats for informational purposes because I know people will ask. I am not saying you should only eat 240 calories for breakfast or that this is a complete meal or whatever.
What is your favorite breakfast these days? Do you have a mug muffin recipe (or any other recipe) to share? (And feel free to link yourself all over in the comments!)
*Part I was protein pancakes which I still totally love too.
The Part of Intuitive Eating I Most Struggle With [Advice, please?]
Betrayed by My Body: The overly dramatic saga continues! First I sneeze upside down and blow chunks (thank you to all of you who suggested using my neti pot to help get the stomach bile out of my sinuses – it is a fab idea and I’ll save it for next time although I sincerely hope there will be no next time), then I get another corneal abrasion from wearing my contacts too much forcing me to wear my nerd glasses and now I get attacked by own stiletto! (You should have seen Jelly Bean’s face) I mentioned before in my State of the Eating Disorder Address that while I’m doing really pretty awesome that I still struggle with some of the disordered thoughts.
Recently a blog friend e-mailed me about how to start her own journey with Intuitive Eating and as I was writing my response, I found myself repeatedly getting stuck on one thought: I am not happy with my happy weight. Before anyone worries that I’m falling off the IE wagon, this is just a recurring (and depressing) thought that I have. I’m not dieting nor doing anything else to try and lose weight. I know the problem is in my head, not my body. What I’m looking for is help accepting the shape and weight that my body has decided it likes best.
One of the very first things Geneen Roth tells you about Intuitive Eating is that your body is going to pick the weight that it feels healthiest and happiest at, not your mind. She warns from the beginning that part of IE is learning to accept that and that continually striving to be unnaturally thin (for you) will not only be an exercise in frustration but impossible with IE. As I’ve gone through this process I’ve kind of tried not to think about this part – hoping, I guess, that either my body would suddenly decide to do what I want it to or else that my mind would come around and agree with my body. So far neither has happened.
On one hand, when I reported that after 1 year of eating intuitively my weight was within 1 pound of what it was when I started, I felt like that was a coup. No measuring, tracking or being overly anal about what I ate (wow that’s an unpleasant image) and I maintained my weight! On the other hand, one year later I was still at the same weight. I wasn’t surprised as my clothes all fit the same and yet there was a twinge of disappointment. I exercise! I eat healthy! Shouldn’t that give me carte blanche to make my body into any shape I want it? No? That’s not how it works??
Of course that’s not how it works. So here’s where I need help. I’m about ten pounds over my “ideal” weight and I’m not going to try and change that. My body is healthy, I’m happy and relatively sane and I get to eat salted caramel pretzel ice cream which is the best ice cream ever. Let me be clear: I see this as a great success and I have no intention of ruining it. And yet I still can’t seem to let this one thought go. Every time I see a girl I wish I looked like, every time I overeat (it happens), every time I try on yoga pants that aren’t black and realize again how unflattering yoga pants are to my thighs, it’s there in the back of my head: this idea that everything would be better if I were just 10 pounds thinner.
Sure sitting down every time I eat is hard (and I’ll be honest, I break that rule a lot) and that whole stopping eating when I’m full business can be really tricky (I don’t care if I’m full, I want jelly beans!!) but by far the hardest rule of IE for me is learning to be happy with my happy weight.
Is this one of those things that just takes time? Does it get easier with age? Do motivational sayings help you? Does talking about it help or make it worse? I realize that by posting this I run the risk of giving some of you similar thoughts. I sincerely hope that my asking for help doesn’t cause you to have more problems. I am in no way advocating disordered thinking but figuring this out is really important to me and this is why:
She copies everything I do. And I pray she won’t learn this from me.
Any of you struggle with accepting your natural weight and shape too? How do you deal with this? What’s your fave ice cream flavor?
The One Part of Intuitive Eating I Can’t Master [And how I'm getting help for it]
I can’t help it – every time I think of obsessive navel gazing, I look to the master. Of course Inigo Montoya was completely awesome.
Having a year-plus of Intuitive Eating* under my belt and counting nary a single calorie, fat gram or carb in that time has made me a bit cocky, I’ll admit it. I’ve even referred to myself as “recovered” a few times. I like absolutes. I’m a black and white thinker! I swing wildly back and forth between I’m cured! and I’m sick!. But as anyone who has ever had an eating disorder take up residence in their gray matter knows, it’s really not that binary. Which is how I have found myself in a deep funk for the past month or so, thinking that because I’ve made some mistakes that means I’ve failed at Intuitive Eating.
By “mistakes” I mean this: While I haven’t done anything major, I have ended up crying in my closet again. Over some rather silly things. One thing, actually. And this one this is so pernicious that despite all my IE progress, I’m baffled as to how to let it go. This thing is a thought that possess me, obsesses me, far more than I like to admit. But I’m not as subtle as I like to think I am. I was looking back over old posts tonight trying to decide what I hadn’t blogged recently. I’m weird that way; I’m never at a loss for topics to blog about – my brain is so frenetic I’ll wake myself up with ideas and scribble them in the margins of a crossword puzzle book I keep next to my bed – but I tend to get stuck in ruts. And tonight I noticed that I’ve been blogging a lot about diets, dieting, food and even weight loss over the past month or so. There was a period of time where I didn’t blog about these things (truly!) and now they’re back. Why? It’s the thing come back to haunt me. It’s the one piece of Intuitive Eating I simply can’t figure out.
It’s the thought that I’m never thin enough. I tell myself that 5 pounds, that’s all I need to lose and then I’ll be happy. Lie.
Even though I don’t restrict food anymore, I’ve let some old food neuroses creep back in. My anxiety over eating is back. Hunger is starting to feel more like failure and less like the natural, healthy, body cue that I know it to be. And all of it always comes back to the thought that I’m nothing if I’m not thin. I’m slipping, you guys. I’d be embarrassed to admit this to you all except that I’m guessing you already noticed.
But my brain is wrong and this time I’m fighting back, before it goes any further than just thoughts. I am more than the circumference of my thighs or the width of my waist. I am more than any stick-figure ideal touted by a few sick people in prominent places. I am more, even, than this body as flawed and beautiful as it is. I am worth so much more than this.
The hard part for me is really believing it. I know it on a cerebral level but through all my recovery I have never been able to fully exorcise that dream of perfect thinness. Just typing that is laughable – what is thin, after all? It isn’t happiness, nor health, nor longevity. And the “dream of” it turns into a shallow, self-serving obsession. Madness lies in a perfectly unattainable goal, always one step (or one pound) out of reach.
The thing that I hate the most about this Thought is that I can only really think about one thing at a time so if my brain is obsessing over holding my stomach in just so then I am not listening when my son tries to show me the apple he drew or my friend tries to tell me about her doctor’s appointment or my mom calls to ask about birthday party plans. When I’m consumed with not consuming, I can’t hear the little voice that tells me to write a note of encouragement to a neighbor or notice when a Gym Buddy looks sad or take cookies to the beloved teacher who just lost her job. I don’t hear the deep belly laugh of my toddler as she figures out how to throw every possession she owns over the side of the back deck. (The mystery of the missing shoes, solved!) All these blessed opportunities: missed.
But it isn’t enough to just write these words here. So, I’ve taken the real-world step of hiring a nutritionist and going back to therapy. Yay! The nutritionist (thank you to Quix for the inspiration!) is because I need to not think about food right now. I need to stop trying to figure out the exact best healthiest way to eat. I need someone to just tell me what to eat so I can focus on rewiring my brain to think about other things again. And to hit me with the reality stick when I veer off course. I’ve tried seeing a nutritionist once in the past and it ended rather badly. I didn’t return. I have higher hopes for this one and we have our first official meeting tomorrow! The trick, of course, will be to trust her judgement. I think I can do that.
This isn’t a black-or-white test that I pass or fail. Eating disorder recovery and Intuitive Eating are going to be a lifelong process for me but it doesn’t have to be a lifelong struggle. My dear grandmother was bulimic to the day she died and, forgive me if this sounds weird, but I’ve felt her presence a lot this week. When I was younger I used to think this disorder was the tie that bound us even across death but now I think that she does not want me to suffer like she did. She wants me to learn faster than she did that being more does not make us less. I will not miss this opportunity to listen. I am a fast learner.
What do you do when your thoughts don’t match your actions? Have you ever used a nutritionist? Any other advice about how you conquered the “thin at all costs” mental demons? I’ve returned to writing in my gratitude journal daily and pulled out the old CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) workbook!
*Every time I post about IE, people ask me which program I follow and which books I recommend so I’ll just get a jump on it here and tell you that I LOVE Geneen Roth’s version of IE. It’s been absolutely life changing for me. The first book I usually recommend to people is WHEN YOU EAT AT THE REFRIGERATOR, PULL UP A CHAIR: 50 WAYS TO FEEL THIN, GORGEOUS, AND HAPPY (WHEN YOU FEEL ANYTHING BUT)
Reading Labels Part 3
In part 1,
Today I would like to address the issue of cross contamination and how that might show up on a label.
Many people who have problems with gluten, whether because of celiac disease or something else, react to very small amounts of gluten. Even though the ingredients used in a food are gluten free, that does not mean that the product is free of gluten. Cross contamination can cause a food to have unsafe levels of gluten.
Cross contamination can result from individual ingredients being contaminated, often before they get to the manufacturer of the food product. Sometimes companies will not say that their product is gluten free because they cannot verify that the ingredients coming from outside suppliers are gluten free.
Cross contamination can result from the processing of the food, including it’s various stages.
2. Label Warning Statements
Manufacturers are not required to put statements on labels regarding cross contamination. Many companies do so voluntarily, usually with regard to the top eight allergens. However, there is no standard for what those statements mean.
The two most common types of statements are something like, “manufactured in a facility that processes….” or “manufactured on equipment that processes….”
You might think that something processed on the same equipment as wheat is likely to have more cross contamination than something processed in the same facility as products containing wheat. That’s not necessarily true.
Being processed in the same facility as wheat could mean that it is also processed on the same equipment. Remember, there are no regulations.
In addition, some products may be more likely to cause cross contamination than others. A facility that has flour (or other fine, dry ingredient) flying around is likely to have a high degree of contamination, even if processed on separate equipment. Wetter products may keep the gluten more contained and make it easier to clean equipment. Therefore, the risk of contamination could depend on the type of gluten containing products that are being processed. This, however, is purely my own speculation.
You can watch this Kinnikinnick video on
3. How I Use Warning Statements
If a product states that it is processed in the same facility or on the same equipment as products containing wheat, I don’t buy it, unless it has been certified and tested to less than 10 parts per million.
If a warning statement does not include wheat, I generally assume that it was not produced with wheat containing products. It is possible that wheat was simply not listed, but since they are going to the trouble to put the warning statement on the label, I figure they would likely include wheat if it was there. That’s my thinking, but you have to make your own decision on that.
An example would be nuts. Many nuts (particularly store brands) have warning statements that include wheat. Some have warning statements that include peanuts and tree nuts, but not wheat. I go with the one that has a statement but doesn’t include wheat.
When in doubt, call. Warning statements can mean different things and so can no warning statement at all. There is usually a phone number on the package, and companies are now used to dealing with questions about gluten.
5. The Importance of Gluten-Free Labeling
This whole series on labeling underscores the importance of having gluten-free labeling regulations.
Jules of
Jules
“SO, the real problem we face reading labels is that there is no provision for testing amounts of gluten to determine if “gluten-free” can be put on the label. Thus, we have a situation where a manufacturer looks at its product, says to himself, “I didn’t put any gluten into the product as an ingredient, so I’m going to label it Gluten Free,” when he has no idea if it’s been contaminated. Consumers then see the “GF” designation and stop reading. Since contamination has the potential to render a product quite full of gluten, consumers are left in the dark about true food product safety – the real risk coming from with cross-contamination, not because ingredients are included on a label.”
While reading labels is much easier than it was years ago, we still have a ways to go. Remember to be diligent and always read labels!
Reading Labels Part 2
Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA)
As a result of FALCPA, food labeling changes went into effect on January 1, 2006. This law requires that the top eight allergens, wheat, milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, Crustacean shellfish, and soy, be listed by it’s common name. It must be listed if it is an ingredient or part of an ingredient.
The allergens can be stated in the ingredients list or in a “contains” statement at the end of the list. Some manufacturers do both.
What’s Important to Remember
Gluten is not one of the top eight allergens. While wheat is, rye, barley and contaminated oats are not part of that list. That means those gluten-containing ingredients will not be listed as part of a “contains” statement. You must read the ingredient list to look for those items.
How I Read a Label
“Contains” statements are usually easier to read than the list of ingredients. They are often bolded and are easy to find at the end of the list of ingredients, so I start there. If the product has a “contains” statement I read that looking for wheat.
If wheat is listed in the “contains” statement then I know it is not gluten free and I put it right back on the shelf.
If wheat is not listed (or if there is no “contains” statement), I know it might be gluten free. I then start reading the ingredients looking for rye, barley (which often shows up as malt) or oats (knowing that unless certified gluten free oats are used, they are likely contaminated).
If no gluten containing ingredients are listed, I know it is probably gluten-free.
I say probably because there can still be issues of cross contamination. I will talk more about that next week.
Be Diligent
It is important that you don’t rely on reading only the “contains” statements. Besides the fact that gluten is not one of the top eight allergens, I have seen cases where an allergen was not listed in the “contains” statement (though other allergens were) but it was listed in the ingredients.
“Contains” statements should only be used as a quick way to rule out a product, not as a quick way to determine if it is safe.
Always read labels, even on items you use all the time. Ingredients can change.
Further Reading
You can find more information about FALCPA at the
Still Getting Gluten Part 3 – Eating Outside Your Home
This series is aimed at helping people who are on a gluten-free diet but suspect that they are consuming gluten unintentionally. It is also great for anyone who is just starting out on the diet.
Please read Part 1 – Gluten-Free Food and Part 2 – Eating In Your Home.
After reading part 2 about eating in your own home (if you don’t have a completely gluten free home) you won’t be surprised that it’s even more difficult to eat safely outside your home. It can be done, though.
There are various situations in which we eat outside our homes.
- Eating in a restaurant or cafeteria or at a catered event.
- Eating at the home of family and friends.
- Packing our own food and eating it at work, school, or on a trip.
Eating at Restaurants or Similar Situations
I do not eat out very often, so I’m no expert on this, but here are a few tips.
1. Gluten-Free Food – You need to start with making sure there are gluten-free food options. I like to give my business to restaurants that offer a gluten-free menu. There are a few listed at the bottom of my sidebar with links to their gluten free menus or nutritional information.
If the restaurant does not have a gluten-free menu, scan the menu for items that are naturally gluten free, then questions the staff, preferably a chef, about anything that might have been added to the food such as marinades or seasonings and ask to see ingredients.
2. Cross Contamination – Once you are sure you have ordered gluten-free food items, you need to educate that staff a little about cross contamination. If bread is put on a grill, it will need to be cleaned before they grill your steak. If the salad bowl usually has croutons in it, they need to use a clean bowl to mix your salad. Also request that they keep your food away from bread and any other gluten containing foods.
Eating at the Home of Family and Friends
1. Gluten-Free Food – Try to discuss the menu with the cook before you arrive. If they are not sure what to prepare be ready with some suggestions. Basic meat, potato, and vegetable meals are usually safe. Don’t forget to discuss anything that will be added to food: marinades, seasonings, butter, etc. Remember, although butter is gluten-free, their butter might have crumbs in it. Ask them to use a new stick.
Bring food to contribute to the meal. I often bring dessert since that can be particularly difficult for someone to make gluten free. Otherwise you could suggest options such as fresh fruit and ice cream.
Don’t eat something that you know or suspect contains gluten just to make them feel good. It’s not worth it.
2. Cross Contamination – The percentage of times I have gotten sick after eating at a friend’s house is greater than the percentage of times I have gotten sick from eating at a restaurant. I believe it is because of cross contamination. For one, many restaurants are trained to think that way. They keep things separate and clean. Second, I don’t eat at restaurants that use much flour or do baking. My friends, however, do bake, and it can be very difficult to make sure that everything is clean.
Do your best to educate them about cross contamination. If you can be there to help with food preparation and cooking then you can make sure that everything is clean and handled properly. Your host/hostess might enjoy having the two of you cook together.
Packing Food and Eating it at Work, School, or on a Trip
1. Gluten-Free Food – This is probably the safest option of the three because you are more in control. You can bring your own safe gluten free food with you. You can make your own bread and pack a sandwich. Salad is one of my favorites for traveling. I include some type of meat to go on it and pack a few crackers or chips to go with it. There are more great lunchbox tips in this post.
2. Cross Contamination – This is mainly a problem if you are eating with other people, such as a child eating at school. Try explaining the situation to those involved such as your co-workers, and ask them not to wave their sandwich over your food. 
For children, make sure the teacher understands and is looking out for your child, and of course, educate your child. It would probably also help to talk with your child’s closest friends and their parents. I really don’t have experience in this area, so maybe some of you could give suggestions in the comments.
I hope you have benefitted from this series. I think it’s a good reminder for all of us as we need to be continually diligent about what goes into our mouths.
The Gluten Free Survival Guide is a very practical and thorough eBook which I recommend to beginners. The link to the survival guide is an affiliate link which will take you to another site.
Still Getting Gluten Part 3 – Eating Outside Your Home originally appeared on The Gluten-Free Homemaker on 04/22/2011.
Still Getting Gluten Part 2 – Eating In Your Home
This series is aimed at helping people who are on a gluten-free diet, but suspect that they are consuming gluten unintentionally. It is also great for anyone who is just starting out on the diet.
Please read Part 1 – Gluten-Free Food
After you have made sure the food you are eating is indeed gluten free, next you need to take a look at your home. Specifically, your kitchen.
This is not my kitchen.
Look for Cross Contamination at Home
If you do not have a gluten-free kitchen, you need to be very careful. It only takes a crumb (actually even less) to make someone sick. A completely gluten free kitchen and home is certainly the safest way to go, but it is not the only option.
For ten years I was the only person out of five in our family who needed to be on a gluten-free diet. My husband and I decided we would not eliminate all gluten from our house, but we knew that we needed to do whatever it would take to make sure I was healthy and not accidentally consuming gluten.
Here’s what we do:
- My kitchen cabinets, work space, and cooking tools are all gluten free.
- I only cook and bake gluten free food.
- We keep a portable counter
at one end of our kitchen that holds all the gluten-containing foods.
This is not the one we use, but you get the idea.
Keep the gluten contained. When I first started on the gluten-free diet, gluten filled breads and cereals were still in the main part of the kitchen. I was also having gluten reactions on a fairly regular basis. When we moved all the gluteny foods to a separate cabinet that was away from my cooking area, there was a big drop in how often I was getting sick.
Get rid of wheat flour. While we do have gluten filled foods in our house, I do not have any gluten containing flours in my house. Personally, I think it is almost impossible to bake with wheat flour and fix gluten-free meals in the same kitchen. Flour gets in the air (which means it can get in someone’s mouth and be swallowed) and can settle anywhere.
Have separate cooking tools. If you decided to cook gluten-filled foods such as pasta for those in your family who can eat it, it is a good idea to have separate utensils and other cooking items. Look for things that are particularly difficult to clean. Colanders with all their little holes can pose a problem. Having two of them is a good idea. Porous items are also a concern such as wooden spoons and cutting boards.
Have two toasters. Toasters are full of crumbs and can certainly make a gluten-free person sick. At our house we have two toasters—a black one for gluten containing bread and a white one for gluten-free bread.
Have separate condiments. Keep two of anything that people dip a knife into, spread on their bread, and then dip again. This includes butter, mayonnaise, jelly, and peanut butter. Use a sharpie or bright round stickers to label the gluten-free condiments.
Consider separate squeeze bottles. Squeeze bottles are less of a problem than jars that are dipped into, but people are still handling the bottles with crumbs on their hands. It is also possible that the top of the bottle will touch the bread and a crumb could stick to it. I got very sick from such an accident years ago. I used a bottle of honey that my young kids had used with their English muffins. After I got sick I went back and looked at the honey bottle and there was a very large crumb stuck to the top right next to the hole where the honey comes out. Apparently there had been another crumb there too.
Keep surfaces clean. Surfaces are a place where crumbs can go unnoticed. Be sure that tables and counters are wiped well. A good way to make sure they are clean is to get eye level with the surface. You might be surprised by what you see!
As you can see, there are lots of opportunities for gluten cross contamination in your own home, and I have probably forgotten some.
Can you think of anything I forgot?
The Gluten Free Survival Guide is a very practical and thorough eBook which I recommend to beginners. The link to the survival guide is an affiliate link which will take you to another site.
Still Getting Gluten Part 2 – Eating In Your Home originally appeared on The Gluten-Free Homemaker on 04/15/2011.
Obsessions Part 1
I often find myself fixated on certain items. More often than not it’s something quirky, eclectic, geeky, nerdy and random. This is an exact showcase of who I am inside: quirky, eclectic, geeky, nerdy and random.
I have always had an obsession with random dishes, primarily mugs, and unique kitchens. I find a lot of “gems” at thrift stores and garage sales, and it was always a dream of mine to have a kitchen that showcased my collections.
Here are some items and pictures that I have been loving…
…from the lovely Raining Sheep Blog
I would love to display my bulk foods like this!
… from A Bird In The Hand ( I ADORE this kitchen!)
And last but not least…
Still Getting Gluten Part 1 – Gluten-Free Food
Not long ago I had an email from a reader whose daughter has celiac disease. She does not have outward symptoms when she eats gluten which means her parents have to rely on labels, certification, and manufacturer gluten-free claims.
He was frustrated because they try to be so careful with what she eats, but blood tests are still showing that she is getting gluten.
Another reader has been gluten free for a while, but is still sick. It turns out she was not using a dedicated toaster and didn’t know if that could be the problem.
Sometimes we do our best, but find that it’s not enough. For anyone in a similar situation, I thought I would give some suggestions. I have broken this down into a three part series that I will post on Fridays for the next few weeks.
Make Sure the Food You Eat is Gluten Free
This seems obvious, but it’s not always easy to know if food is truly gluten free.
Gluten-Free Labeling: There are currently no regulations on labeling a food as gluten free. The proposed level of allowable gluten is 20 parts per million (ppm), and some manufacturers use that as a guide.
One such company is General Mills which produces products such as gluten-free Chex cereal, gluten-free Bisquick, and gluten-free Betty Crocker dessert mixes. While I appreciate their efforts to make gluten-free products, the fact is that many people, including my son, react to their products.
This situation could happen because a company’s products are less than 20 ppm, but that level is too high and still causes reactions. Or it could be that the final product is actually higher than 20 ppm. This can happen if a company is testing their products at certain points, but not doing enough testing on the final products.
The bottom line is that just because a product says it is gluten free does not mean it it won’t make you sick.
Certification: I prefer to use products that are certified by the GFCO and are tested to 10 ppm. I have much more confidence in such products, but even then you should keep in mind that a certification organization cannot ensure that everything is complied with all the time.
A Personal Experience: Recently I attended a gluten free vendor fair that my support group hosted. I came home with a lot of gluten-free samples that I thought would be perfect for my son to take to school. The companies were either strictly gluten free companies or had high levels of testing and/or certification. I was pretty confident that all the products would be safe for him to use.
But guess what? He had a little diarrhea the first couple of days, and then a day where he had it throughout the day at school. This son is not a little boy. He is in college and can take care of himself, but I still feel terrible when something like that happens. I gave him that food.
Processed Foods: Processed foods by nature carry some risk of cross contamination. If you are having problems, you might want to consider cutting them out all together for a while and then using only products in which you have very high confidence.
In particular, I would say that from my experience the types of processed foods that carry the highest amount of risk are foods that include flour such as cereals, mixes, and baked goods.
Medications, Vitamins, and Supplements
While these items are not food, they do go through your digestive system. Double check all medications, vitamins, and other supplements. GlutenFreeDrugs.com is a good source for checking on medications. You can also call drug manufacturers or have the pharmacy do so. Some vitamin brands now include “free of” type statements. Look for ones that are labeled gluten free or contact the company.
Related post: Gluten Cross Contamination
Be sure to come back next Friday for Part 2.
The Gluten Free Survival Guide is a very practical and thorough eBook which I recommend to beginners. The link to the survival guide is an affiliate link which will take you to another site.
Still Getting Gluten Part 1 – Gluten-Free Food originally appeared on The Gluten-Free Homemaker on April 8, 2011.
Gluten-Free Lunchbox Tips Part 2
This is a guest post from Valerie of City|Life|Eats (see her bio below). If you missed it yesterday, be sure to read Gluten-Free Lunchbox Tips Part 1.
Rethink the sandwich – While there are some good gluten-free breads out there, I find they tend to get soggy when made into sandwiches that are then packed until lunchtime. My approach it to have the bread on the side and assemble the sandwich right before I eat. Another option is to use crackers as a base for a snack plate, which is definitely more interesting and varied than a plain sandwich.
Rethink bread completely – To add variety, I also like to stuff sandwich fillings in brown rice tortillas (for tips on how to soften them, see here), collard wraps, Swiss Chard wraps and red pepper boats. Sometimes I stuff the filling into the wrap when packing lunch, but sometimes I keep the wrap component separate and wrap as I eat.
Embrace quinoa – When I am at a loss for a lunchbox, I often cook some quinoa and throw it together with whatever herbs and vegetables I have, and round it out with leftover tofu or some cooked beans (or both!). You can use just lemon juice and olive oil to dress the quinoa salad, or make a homemade salad dressing and pack that on the side. Another approach to quinoa is to top it with tomato sauce mixed with canned sardines or wild salmon for a fast but filling meal.
Be willing for items not to match – I used to really like my lunchboxes to follow a certain theme (i.e. Asian flavors, or mostly raw, or hearty mashed sweet potatoes and a protein and other sides), but that required too much work. Now my lunchboxes sometimes a noodle stir-fry with some veggies topped with vegan parmesan. No, the flavors do not go together, but since I bring lunch and two snacks, it is fine if the flavors do not match up completely.
Consider drinking part of your lunchbox – This is one of my favorite time-saving tips. I often have smoothies for breakfast, and it is not that much more work to make an extra smoothie and bring it to work for a late-morning snack. I am fortunate that I have only a 10 minute walking commute, so the smoothie does not spend a long time outside of a fridge, and I often use a small ice pack to keep it cold. I pack smoothie in glass jars and fill them to the top before putting a lid on them. I usually pour the smoothie for work into the jar before drinking my breakfast smoothie. Smoothies are also an easy way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables when your lunchbox would be a bit bare otherwise and you are short on time.
Finally, a note on time – I follow all the tricks to save time (cook ahead on weekends, make batches of things, freeze portions of leftovers) but I cannot deny packing a varied meal day in and day out takes time. I am lucky my husband also cooks many of our meals and that we both like leftovers. When I am really short on time, I tend to rely on more raw components in a lunchbox, but we all have to find the time savers that work for us. I hope these tips give you some ideas on packing tasty food to go.
Valerie blogs at City|Life|Eats about food, life, work, and living with food allergies and a modified diet. Her lunchboxes and recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free and often, but not exclusively, vegan. You can subscribe to City|Life|Eats via RSS or email or connect with Valerie via Twitter or Facebook.
Gluten-Free Lunchbox Tips Part 2 originally appeared on The Gluten-Free Homemaker on March 25, 2011.